CG Corp Global to go all out with its India Expansion Plans
by Prashant Kapadia/NHN
Mumbai: CG Corp Global, one of the leading FMCG companies in India and a transnational conglomerate, today announced its India expansion plans with the launch of 30 Wai Wai City Noodle Bar outlets across the country. Company is also planning to open up another 500 outlets towards the end of December 2020. CG Corp has already invested an amount of Rs. 50 crore for its India market expansion and further plans to invest Rs. 250 crore towards the end of 2020. Company is planning to capture a market size of Rs. 1000 crore from the Wai Wai City by the end of 2025.
“Over the years CG group has always looked and explored businesses that provided the consumer an affordable and exciting opportunity to engage with the Category. Instant Noodles in India as a category has a very low per capita consumption base. We realised that unless the consumer starts experiencing the Noodle format in various forms and finds new reasons to consume, this category will remain small in India unlike other markets we operate in. Wai Wai City is an extension of the Wai Wai Noodle brand; Wai Wai City brings the noodle consumption moment alive. These outlets, apart from offering delicious and standardised meals, also helps the consumer experience Noodles beyond regular recipes” said, Binod Chaudhary, Chairman CG Group .
Wai Wai City is India’s first QSR) Noodle Bar concept. The outlet deviates from sticking to the standard quick service restaurant layout by moving on to creating a functional space without compromising on the fun through its colourful graphics. Our Senior chefs in Wai Wai City believe that noodles is not a preparation in itself (for e.g. CHINESE or Instant Noodles that Indians are used to consuming) but instead it is a FUN CARB that anyone interested in cooking can use as a base and play around with in terms of flavours/sauces/styles of cooking etc.
The new hand crafted menu in Wai Wai City reeks of this new thinking. Additionally, by using the long format noodles, we aim to introduce the concept of SILKY NOODLES the term which primarily comes from cooking the noodles in a way that it gives our customers the fun experience of slurping them instead of just eating them like any other noodle.
The dishes have been crafted keeping in mind the customers’ cultural food palate (both traditional and contemporary). Hence, WWC menu offers everything from a snacky wai wai city bhel to south Indian flavoured noodles to the very contemporary and current favourite; THAI Curry flavoured noodles. The new desserts and beverages are no exception to this concept. From an exotic funky tiramisu and cherry coke (beverage) to a nimbu masala one can have it all at the Wai Wai City.
“New exciting, fresh and innovative recipes for on the go consumption and it is a great mix of Starter Delights and main offering at price points that make the experience first of its kind. These recipes have been created and designed by our team of Chefs and we intent to patent them” said, Chef Shanti Chauhan . In India, while overall food as a category is already a cluttered one with new cuisines, flavours, styles of cooking etc being introduced every single day, NOODLES as a space is rather unexplored. In India, all things noodles is either Chinese or Instant packet noodles, no player has tried to either break that myth nor have they exposed the customers to a new way of consuming noodles. Every Wai Wai City outlet on the other hand does just that. It not only breaks the myth about noodles but also delights it customers by offering a large spread of different styles & flavours of noodles. With its new menu, Wai Wai City stands true to being a NOODLE BAR. We will grow through Master Franchisee and Sub Franchisee route. We have assigned 25 Master Franchisees in the country who will operate their own outlets in addition to sub-franchising the brand in their respective regions. This helps us expand quickly at the same time it ensures that the outlet is operated as per the set guidelines and standards. The Master Franchisee represents the brand in its region and controls the operational aspect of the outlets.
“The start has been very exciting and encouraging. Our objective is to have between 300/ 350 outlets in India by the year end 2019. The consumer experience for us is most critical and our mission is to offer the same experience of food and ambiance across all our outlets in India and globally” – Pankaj Neeraj, CEO Wai Wai City
While the marketing TG for Wai Wai City is the YOUTH, the mind-set that we ideally want to target with our actual product offering is that of a FOODIE. Those who don’t believe that food is only meant to fill a hungry stomach but those who like to indulge in the overall experience; those who want to know more about the preparation, ingredients, style of cooking, inspiration etc.
The new outlets have more energy, vibrancy and youthfulness attached to it. The menu and the pricing will definitely attract larger foot traffic. The way we are presenting different flavours of Noodles in our outlets, we are confident that our consumers will love it and they will have reasons to visit us more frequently. The new range of “ Wai Wai Delights” will sure be one of the most sought after menu items in our outlets. We have also added multiple flavours in Beverages and some mouth-watering desserts in the new menu. “Building from our Chairman’s vision: our purpose has been to reach various corners of the nation and set up high experience Noodle consumption outlets. Our first outlet was set up in Delhi in Aug 2016. Over the last couple of years we have set up over 25 outlets in India and Nepal. It has been a great learning experience for us. Today we meet to present to you’ll an improved version of new offering. Designed by one of the best Chefs in the industry. Innovative and adaptive to the ever evolving tastes of the new age consumer” said, Varun Chaudhary, MD Wai Wai City
We have created new content (films) for the new avatar of Wai Wai City which we plan to amplify through digital and cinema theatres. Apart from that we are also trying to explore radio, on-ground activation, newspaper inserts, price point and menu communication on Digital, tying up with popular food bloggers and doing an activity with them. Our overall communication strategy for all the existing outlets is that of PRECISION BOMBING rather than carpet bombing. We classified the existing outlets basis certain critical factors and created customised media mix solution for each of the classification. A very different approach from the rest of the players